Butler shot 8-for-14 against the 76ers after going 8-for-30 in his previous two games. There is at least one certainty when Butler struggles with his shot: He will put in work.

"Just getting back in the lab," said Butler, who entered Monday shooting 43.8 percent. "Never settle. Continue to work on my game."

Upon film review, coach Fred Hoiberg said most of Butler's shots in his 8-for-30 spasm were the right ones. Also, to Butler's credit, he continued attacking, getting to the line 17 times in those two games.

"Jimmy is a guy who can make tough shots. He's done it all year long," Hoiberg said. "His shots have been fine. He just left a couple of them short. I'm confident Jimmy will bounce back. When he does struggle, which isn't very often, he's going to get in there and correct it."

Walk it through: With the Bulls playing five straight home games, Hoiberg held a closed walk-through at 5 p.m. rather than a morning shootaround.

"Jim Boylen said one of the things the Spurs used to do a lot when they had a long homestand is go through a lot in a walk-through the day before and then meet at the arena," Hoiberg said of his associate head coach, who spent the last two seasons on Gregg Popovich's staff. "We had a film session here before we walked through some of (the 76ers') actions. Just to try to get a little more energy coming out of the gate. Let the guys get a little more rest in the morning."

Talk it over: David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, started a podcast called "The Axe Files" in his role as founder and director of the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Many of the episodes feature expected guests such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mitt Romney.

But Axelrod, a longtime Bulls season ticket holder, delves into other genres as well. And Episode 17 features Joakim Noah, who discussed the Bulls, his work with Noah's Arc Foundation and his anti-violence efforts in Chicago.

"I'm proud of the work that we're doing, but the trust is in the back of my mind, I always know that we're losing," Noah said on the podcast. The full interview can be accessed at www.politics.uchicago.edu/pages/axefiles.